COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Samford University track and field standouts Tray Oates and Selena Popp both competed on the national stage Friday as the Bulldogs’ Southern Conference champions participated in the NCAA Indoor Championships being held this weekend at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium on the campus of Texas A&M University.

Oates competed in the pole vault Friday and earned a seventh-place finish in the nation with a final height of 5.50 meters, which translates to a half-inch over 18 feet.

Oates closed out the competition tied for seventh place with Texas A&M’s Jacob Wooten and Texas Tech’s Brandon Bray. Kansas’ Hussain Alhizam won the national championship with a first-place height of 5.70 meters.

Samford’s Popp, who was recently named the SoCon’s Most Outstanding Female Field Performer and Most Outstanding Athlete at the SoCon Indoor Track and Field Championships, earned a 16th-place finish in the national standings of the pentathlon Friday. Popp competed in the challenging event and compiled a score of 3,865. Her best discipline proved to be the high jump, where she earned 842 points.

Arkansas’ Taliyah Brooks won the championship in the event with a total score of 4,572. She placed first in both the 60-meter hurdles and the long jump.